Jack Saïd
Chief Doctor Jack Ali Saïd is a Follower of the Apocalypse, the leader of the Follower detachment in Fort Angel in the Badlands Territory, and an honorary member of the Canadian Liberation Army. A graduate of Angel's Boneyard Medical University and a devout Muslim, Saïd is the best-trained surgeon in the Territory, but his responsibilities are wearing on him. Biography Origins Jack Ali Saïd was born in 2252 in the San Bernardino near the Angel's Boneyard, inside the New California Republic. He was born into a traditionally Muslim extended family who had viciously preserved their culture since the Great War. When Jack was born, the Saïd family was divided between Jack's uncles, who preferred the old isolated approach and his father, who had recently joined the Followers of the Apocalypse. They quarreled on whether Jack would have a traditional or progressive upbringing. In the end, it was a compromise. Jack was raised a devout Muslim and taught Arabic and English while also having a Followers education and interaction with other people besides his own family. This was considered a success by Jack's family, but what it had really done was create a very conflicted individual. Jack's humanist and Muslim sides would cause him problems later. Luckily, this did not interfere with his schooling. Jack was a bright and kind boy who just wanted to please his family. Jack proved to be an excellent student and graduated the top of his class going out of high school. Prodded into becoming a doctor by his father, Jack decided to attend Angel's Boneyard Medical University in 2270. This involved moving to the Angel's Boneyard, which was a new experience for Jack. He went to the University for four years to become a surgeon and three more to become a doctor. Jack's classmates, teachers, and roommates did not understand his religion or beliefs, but this did not matter to him. He tried to be nice to everyone and make new friends, regardless of their or his religion. Regardless of Jack's good intentions, many other students at the University hounded him relentlessly, either hating him for his "foreign" attitudes or conservative Muslim mindset. Those who did try to befriend him often did so as to make themselves look accepting, rather than forge an actual friendship. One of these friends was Valerie Stephens, a higher-up in the Followers of the Apocalypse. She was interested in making Jack an addition to her group of friends to make it "more exotic". Jack went along with this, eager to gain some standing at the University but grew to regret his decision in later years. He did make some real friends like Neal and the ghoul Marsha Lee. Graduating from the University in 2274, Jack became Doctor Saïd and was visited by his parents upon his final graduation in 2277. For a short time, it seemed as if Doctor Saïd might return to San Bernardino and establish some type of clinic near his home. However, a big event rocked the Followers of the Apocalypse in early February, news of the Fort Angel Massacre from out east and the desertion of the fort's Chief Doctor. It was determined that a caravan would be sent east along with a new Chief Doctor. It turned out that Valerie Stephens, as a high ranking Follower and surgeon, was made the Chief Doctor and put at the head of the Followers caravan. This actually made Saïd quite happy secretly, as he had grown to resent her over the years. However, it became apparent that his friends Neal and Marsha had to go with Valerie Stephens and the expedition. These were Saïd's closest friends and had known him for almost seven years. Also, Saïd was beginning to feel more ambivalent about returning home to his dysfunctional, bickering family and breaking new ground. In March of 2277, Saïd made his decision and told his family in San Bernardino: he was heading east. This made his whole family unite in anger against him, including his once accepting parents. They might have formally disowned him but Saïd left his home before the full consequences could felt, bound for the Badlands Territory. Trans-Continental Journey The Followers caravan passed through a lot of the NCR after leaving the greater Boneyard going up I-15, avoiding territorial brahmin barons and the occasional bandit on their way out. Overall, though, the trip through the NCR was pretty safe. Saïd had to do minimal work and spent much of his time in contemplation about his decision or in prayer, which was hard in a brahmin cart. However, once the caravan left the NCR near the Hub, they were held up near the Colorado River while the First Battle of Hoover Dam took face. After the battle, Chief Hanlon of NCR Rangers tried to turn the Followers caravan back for safety reasons, but Valerie Stephens refused to turn back, making fun of Hanlon behind his back and continuing north anyways. Luckily for the Followers, after the First Battle of Hoover Dam Caesar's Legion was in disarray, and the way north through I-15 in Utah was safe. However, when they shifted to I-70 they began to be attacked more by tribals, raiders, and wildlife. Saïd had to assist in the defense of the caravan a few times in Utah and Colorado on I-70. In Colorado was when they were confronted by Caesar's Legion once again. Valerie Stephens was forced repeatably to pay tribute to the Legion, but the caravan was safe from raiders and tribals because of the Legion's notoriety. Things changed when the Followers caravan approached the ruins of Denver or Dog Town. Denver was an active warzone between the Legion, tribals, hordes of feral dogs, and remnants of Denver's robotic police department. This combined, with the high elevation, made the going tough for the Followers caravan. So, they decided to take the long route and go through Boulder instead of Denver proper. This resulted in an attack by deadly Jackals. The battle killed more Jackals than Followers, but Saïd's friend Marsha Lee was killed along with two other Followers. Saïd had little time to mourn, only burying here along with Neal and being forced to move on by Valerie Stephens. After leaving Boulder, the Followers would continue north up I-25 towards Fort Angel. After entering Wyoming, Valerie Stephens decided to camp out in the ruins of Cheyenne and finally get in contact with Fort Angel via radio. The tribals of the area were hospitable to the Followers for once and Saïd was told to give some of them vaccines, to make sure the Followers' diseases did not kill them. One of the tribals chieftains, Makar, got into a spiritual debate with Saïd over religion, specifically his spirituality versus Saïd's Muslim faith. Saïd was forced to leave mid-conversation by Valerie Stephens, but his knowledge impressed the chieftain and as he left, he was warned of "Badtusks". Saïd only heard this in passing. The journey north up I-25 was rather peaceful from there. Saïd was actually excited to see Fort Angel, as it was very close now. The Followers caravan arrived at the ruins of Orin, where they were supposed to turn northeast to head into the Black Hills. However, they were unaware that this was a very common trade route, and people knew that. Specifically, the Badtusk Clan, a large tribal raider clan once led by Denga Badtusk were set up near Orin. Although the Clan was fragmented, they were still a potent threat within Wyoming and this time as well against the Followers caravan. The attack came as the Followers were leaving the ruins of Orin and feeling safe. More than fifty Badtusks ambushed the caravan, and the battle was fierce on both sides. The Badtusks took many captives and looted the caravans. Saïd tried to take care of the injured while fending off tribals with a shotgun. More than half of the Followers caravan was destroyed, a third of the Followers were killed or captured, and Valerie Stephens, the presumed Chief Doctor, was slain in battle. It was unsure who was next in rank, but it turned out that Saïd as the only other surgeon would become the Chief Doctor. Saïd was shocked by this and at first considered handing off the responsibilities to someone else but he decided to refuse that since his conviction was too strong. Saïd led the caravan northeast from the ruins of Orin, and the trip was quiet from there. By the time the Followers caravan arrived in South Dakota, they were all tired as winter had almost arrived. Entering the Black Hills, the Followers caravan was confronted by a band of Dakota who recognized the caravan and gave them a warm welcome to the area. At first, Saïd was quite suspicious of the Dakota due to his previous experience with tribals. However, his friend Neal took to them quite quickly, being very interested in learning about their language and culture. The Followers caravan had little time to socialize with the Indians, as Saïd wanted to get to Fort Angel as quickly as possible. The Black Hills, however, were quite safe due to the Great Raider Wars and Custer's American Army. Chief Doctor On September 12, 2277, Saïd and the Followers caravan arrived at Fort Angel. Saïd found the fort dilapidated and sparsely populated in the aftermath of all that had happened. The Followers from the caravan announced that Saïd was the new Chief Doctor. The Followers in Fort Angel were confused, as Valerie Stephens had told them over the radio that she was to become Chief Doctor. They had to explain that Stephens had died en route, which did not improve morale in Fort Angel. The Followers at Fort Angel half-heartedly accepted Saïd as their Chief Doctor and went on with their business. After the initial arrival, Chief Doctor Saïd set about repairing Fort Angel. Saïd had to buck up to command the more experienced Followers to assist in the repairs. They complied after a bit of convincing and the first months of Saïd's term as Chief Doctor were spent rebuilding Fort Angel. However, the Followers inside Fort Angel were not enough to repair the fort. He needed more help. So, Chief Doctor Saïd tried to reach out to the local Dakota for help, specifically the tribe of Chief John Eagle. The Dakota were reluctant to help, as their medical care had been cut off ever since the Fort Angel Massacre. It would take more than reinstating their medical care to regain their trust. Saïd decided to solve this by secretly giving the Dakota several bags of medical supplies along with reinstating their medical care. After this generous (and underhanded) gift, the Dakota assisted in repairing the fort and it was done by the summer of 2278. The next two years were rough. Saïd had to hire new mercenaries to help defend the fort, work out deals with local strongmen, and make sure the Followers did not pull each other apart. It was tiring work, and Saïd had to take the advice of the older more experienced Followers, even if he did not like it. However, those two years gave him experience, and he succeeded in keeping the fort up and running. He even had the tribal language cataloging program begin again, with Neil at its head, as well as tribal schooling. The other Followers disapproved of this as favoritism. The Generals War The the Generals War arrived with a bang in late 2280. Although Fort Angel was officially neutral and out of the conflict, Chief Doctor Saïd and the rest of the Followers knew many of the wounded might try to come to them for treatment, perhaps more than they could ever prepare for. First came the refugees from the Borderlands, who fled the warfare there for fear of being caught between the ANA and RUSA. Chief Doctor Saïd did all he could to help the refugees, giving them food and making sure the suspicious Dakota did not harass them. By the end of 2280, the refugees had fled further south Deadwood and the injured soldiers became streaming in. They were Dakota and soldiers from Custer's American Army. Chief Doctor Saïd and the Followers were more than happy to help the injured soldiers. They treated the soldiers and tribals and sent them on their way. Then came more. Chief Doctor Saïd knew what Custer was doing: punishing him for not joining the RUSA by drowning him with bodies. Saïd knew he could not back down, but he also knew he could turn away the injured because of the Followers policy. So he had to go on as is and fend off Followers who wanted to turn away the soldiers. Saïd even had to start selling medical equipment to make ends meet. The problems only worsened when people from the ANA started coming into Fort Angel. The first one in 2282 riled the other patients up so much that Saïd had to hold them off with a pistol. The Followers forced them to stay peaceful, and the two sides of patients forged out their sides in Fort Angel, with the ANA on the west and the RUSA on the east. This caused more tensions between Custer and the Followers of the Apocalypse which boiled over in 2286. Several ANA deserters got into a scuffle with some RUSA soldiers and panicked, shooting many Followers, mercenaries, and RUSA soldiers and taking over the western side of Fort Angel. They also took over a few Dakota schoolchildren, some Followers, and Neal as prisoners and declared their half of Fort Angel the "Dakota Free State". Chief Doctor Saïd was outside the fort at the time and arrived to see Fort Angel surrounded by the Dakota and Custer's American Army. Getting into the fort through a back way, Saïd was confronted by many angry Followers and mercenaries. The men of the "Free State" were making demands to evacuate the entirety of Fort Angel, or they would execute the captives. Saïd knew the soldiers on the outside would raze the fort if he gave the fort over to the deserters, and he decided to refuse. Thinking quickly, Saïd had the mercenaries creep around the walls to attack the deserters from above and rescue the captives while he publicly refused the deserters' demands. Many of the Followers, knowing this plan would not work, began to evacuate the fort on their own accord. The plan did work and only three Followers and no children were killed by the ANA deserters. The mercenaries were forced to kill all the deserters. The Dakota were grateful enough to have their children back but for the time being stopped sending them to Fort Angel for schooling. Obviously, security of Fort Angel was beefed up with new mercenaries and weapons were taken away at the door from the patients so they could not get in fights anymore. Their weapons would be given back at the door. However, ANA soldiers were still allowed care at the fort and tensions between the two sides continued. This changed in 2287 with the appearance of the Doom Buster vigilante, who along with the Dakota, hunted down ANA soldiers and deserters. Chief Doctor Saïd is conflicted by this. He appreciates how tensions have gone down along with the number of ANA patients, but Saïd feels extremely guilty about the lives lost. Because of this and his conscience, Saïd has decided to hunt down Doom Buster somehow. The the Generals War has continued, and injured keep on streaming in. Saïd considered taking chems to lessen the pressure, but he refused. Not only that but there is a financial crisis building because of the costs of treating all of the injured from the war. The Chief Doctor needs help, lots of help. Personality Saïd's life is influenced primarily by two things: his Muslim upbringing and his Follower education. These two things often clash in his decision making and leave him uncertain if he did the right thing. Ultimately, Saïd has risen above both of these and become a more practical man as of late. Saïd is a hopeful, kind man at heart and has devoted his life to helping people in the Badlands Territory. He maintains this outlook years after arriving but is more practical now and has a better sense of humor for it. He is also a tad jaded and even a bit depressed, almost committing suicide in 2281. However, Saïd has held on for the sake of his staff and patients. Appearance Jack Saïd is a tall, thin man with a short beard. He has a prominent nose and was made fun of for it as a child. Saïd has short black hair that he cuts regularly. Saïd commonly wears a Followers doctor coat, with only a few changes of clothes. Equipment Saïd carries around a wide array of medicine such as Stimpaks and Med-X. He also has a pocket-sized version of the Koran and sometimes carries a prayer rug. He sometimes carries currency such as caps or ring pulls. Quotes By About Category:New California Republic Category:Badlands